So far, we haven't experienced anything special due to Songkran. But that all changed this afternoon. Nat and I took one motorbike and Pae and Richard took another, and we headed to the river about 10 KM away to celebrate. On the way there, groups of children waited on the side of the road armed with water buckets and baby powder. They would stand out in the road as we approached, signaling for us to slow down. When we did, water was immediately poured over our heads and baby powder was liberally applied to our faces. They all would then laugh and smile and point as they admired their work and we would go on our way towards the next group of kids where the scene repeated itself.
There really is no way to avoid this activity, unless you stay inside all day. If you didn't stop, you get splashed with the water anyway. Besides, as Nat told me, it was a bit rude to just drive by and not "Play Songkran". Needless to say, by the time we reached our destination our clothes were very wet and very white.
The river was fun. Hundreds of young people were out swimming and playing with intertubes. There was a big dam across the river that was about 10 feet tall, and many kids were sitting on top and jumping off every now and then. We swam for a while, and ate pork on a stick and ice cream and had our faces powdered over and over and over.
Tonight, after another cold water "shower" back at Nat's house, we walked down the street to Pae's house for a party. For hours, about 10 of us sat around outside on straw mats on the ground and drank homemade whisky and ate snacks: watermelon and sunflower seeds, dried fish and squid chips, and popcorn. At one point I was very tired from the day's activities so I lay down and stared up at the moon -- the one thing that I recognized in this world.
